Apparatus for supplying air to workmen



Nov. 10 1925.

919.561,08 K. KoRJlBsKl APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO WORKMEN FiledMarch 24, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l Nw, w, w25. 156mg@ V. K. KORJIBSKBAPPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO WORKMEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24,1923 vwamtoz Patented Nov. 10, 1925.

UNITED STATES VICTOR K. KORJIBSKI, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING AIR TO WORKMEN.

Application led March 24, 1923. Serial No. 627,254.

To all who/m. t may concern:

Be it known that I, VICTOR K. KonJmsKI,

a citizen of the UnitedStates, and residing at Brooklyn, in the countyof Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Apparatus for Supplying Air to Workmen, of which thefollowing is a specification, such as will enable those skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an apparatus for supplying air to workmen inwhat is known as caisson work, tunnelling, mining and may also be usedin factories or other establish'- ments in the handling and treatment ofchemicals and other substances, where poisonous fumes, gases or the likeare prevailing; and the object of the invention is to provide anapparatus involving a helmet adapted to be worn by a workman andparticularly over the head of a workman, whereby fresh air under slightpressure 'may be supplied to the workman; a further object being toprovide means for circulating the air through the helmet worn by aworkman,

whereby a constant supply of air under slightpressure may be passed intoand through the helmet without causing any depressive, objectionable orundesirable feeling to the workman; a further object being to providemeans for indicating the action of the air supplied to the workman atall times; ra further object being to provide means for introducing asmall quantity of oxygen into the air supplied to the workman; a furtherobject being to provide an apparatus of the class specified with means,whereby a workman or other individual may enter a chamber in which ahigh pressure of air prevails without danger of being affected by thehigh pressure of air prevailing in a chamber of this class; and withvthese and other objects in view, the invention consists in an improvedmethod and apparatusl for supplying air to workmen and others, and whichis constructed and operated as hereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification of whichthe accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate parts of myimprovement are designated by suitable reference characters in each ofthe views, and in which :-l

Fig. `lA is a diagrammatic sectional View showing my improved apparatusfor use in what is known as .caisson work, indicating the method of itsuse.

Fig. 2 is a partial section on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1 and on an enlargedscale.

Fig. 4 is a partial section on the line 4-4 ofFig. 1 and on an enlargedscale.

Fig. 5 is a partial section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and on an enlargedscale; and,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of the helmet which I employ.

'In the drawing I have indicated at 10 a caisson construction or a partof a caisson construction, in which is an air chamber 11 adapted to besuppliedwith air under high pressure through a pipe 12, and at 13 I haveshown a doorcontrolling the entrance to the chamber 11, whereby workmenmay pass into and out of said chamber. The door 13 is provided with avalve construction 14 having operating wheels 15 at both sides of thedoor whereby the valve 14 may be moved into an open or closed positionto permit of the opening and closing of the door 13 as may be desired.The framework of the of the door, is provided with an aperture 16 whichopens through both sides of the door frame as shown in Fig. 2 of thedrawing, in which are placed a number of removable blocks 17, saidblocks being preferably composed of rubber and being keyed in positionas shown at- 18. The adjacent faces of the blocks are rounded orarc-shaped in form to receive flexible tubings or hose 19 and 20 asclearly shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4 of the drawing.

Within the air chamber 11 is positioned an air supply pipe 21 which iscoupled as shown at 22, with an air discharge pipe 23, and the airsupply pipe 21 extends to a street or other surface and is coupled withan air compressor 24 as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing and avalve 25 is employed for controlling the passage of air through the pipe21. The pipe 23 also extends to the street or other surface, and the fupper end of said pipe is enlarged as shown at 26 and provided with afan 27 .mounted on a shaft 28 having a worm 29 and mounted at rightangles to the shaft 28 in suitable bearings is another shaft 30 having aworin gear 3l, and a dial 32 for indicating and designating the pressureof air discharged from the pipe 23.

I also employ with the air supply pipe 21, an oxygen supply tank 33,said tank having a similar pipe 34 which opens into the pipe 21 and isprovided with a valve 35 to control the supply of oxygen to the pipe'21whereby the degree of oxygen may be varied in the air supplied to theworkmen through the pipe 21 as hereinafter described.

The pipe 21 or that part thereof that eX- tends horizontally of thechamber 11 1s provided with a plurality of spaced nozzles 36 while thehorizontal portion of thepipe 23 is provided with similarly spacednozzles 37 and these nozzles are adapted to recelve the ends of theflexible tubings or hose 19 and 20 within the chamber 11 as shown at theright of Fig. 1, the tubing 19 being connected with one of'the nozzles36, while tubing 20 is connected with one of the nozzles 37. The otherends of the tubings 19'and 20 are connected with a helmet, 38, thetubing 20 being connected with the top of the helmet as shown at 39while the tubing 19 is connected with the back of the helmet as shown at40.

The helmet 38 is preferably composed of strong, substantial metal andmaybe composed of other materials, such for, example as hard rubber,papier-mch or the like.

The helmet 38 is providedat the front thereof with a transparent panel41 as is the usual custom in helmets of this class,

- and the base 42 of the helmet is fashioned to workman or other conformwith the body of the wearer over the shoulders and around the neck andis provided with a gasket or other facing 43 of resilient material toinsure an air-tight connection of the helmet with the body of thewearer, and suitable straps 4:4 are employed for holding the helmet inposition on the body ofthe wearer.

In the use of the apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, it willbe understood that one side of the tubes 19 and 20 will normall bemounted in and between the yblocks 1 with the inner ends of said tubesjoined to the nozzles 36 and 37, and the outer ends of said tubes'attached tothe helmet 38 as shown at 39 and 40 and if a individualdesires to enter the chamber 11, the helmet 38 is first placed upon thebody of the wearer, and the valve 14 1s opened to permit of the openingof the door 13, and the wearer through the door opening and' removes twoof the blocks 17 and the tubes 19 and 20 of his helmet and places twoother tubes in position and 'when within the compartment 11, the lastnamed tubes are attached to two of the nozzles 36 and 37 and the tubesof the helmet worn by such individual are attached to two'other nozzles36 aid 37 as of the helmet passes shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing. Theworkman may then move around in the chamber this circulation of air willpermit of the free and easy breathing of the workmen in practicallVnormal conditions, and'without being subJect to the high air pressureWithin the chamber 11. It will also be understood that the workmen maymove from place to place in the lchamber 1l by shifting the attachmentof the tubings 19 and 20 on the respective nozzles 36 and 37, and anyVnumber of workmen, within certain limits, may work within the chamber11, a suitable number of nozzles 36. and 37 being employed for thispurpose. l

It will also be understood that by attaching and detaching the tubings19 and 20 in the manner above set out, that any number of workmen orothers may enter the chamber 11 or pass out throughsaid chamber as thecase may be. It will also be understood that the usual supplemental orauxiliary chambers employed in caisson work will be employed and thedoor 13 will open into one of these supplemental or auxiliary chambersin order that a workman or other l party may gradually enter the chamber-11 or gradually return to the street level or` normal atmosphericpressure in successive chambers havmg a different degree of airpressure, but as this last named feature is commonly, known, no specificcomment is made or illustration shown of the other chambers, for thereason that they form no part of the invention.

One of the distinctive features of the invention resides in the`provision of a helmet to be worn upon the head of a workman or otherparty and into which air under slight pressuremay be passed and fromwhich air may be discharged into atmos here,` and preferably through apipe or tu mg `which leads to atmospheric pressure, andfurther to theprovision of means for intrdueing a slight amount of oxygen to the airsupplied to the helmet, if it should be foundnecessary so to do, andparticularly whenV working under certain conditions. While in theaccompanying drawing, I have shown m in vention as used in what is knownas caisson work, I amnot necessarily limited to this use, as my improvedhelmet may be worn 'by workmenjor others in mining, tunnelling and also:in rooms or compartments of factories orjother establishments where aworkman is subject to poisonous fumes, gases or other substances, whichtend to break down the constitution of the workman by being subjected toand constantly inhaling and breathing the fumes, gases or othersubstances, and this is especially so in the 'handling and treatment ofcertain chemicals and metals of various kinds and classes. Regardless.of the specific use of my improved apparatus or ,the method ofsupplying air to a workman, in all cases, I provide means forintroducing air into a helmet worn by the workman or otherparty whichwill facilitate lsubstantially normal respiration in that the airintroduced into the helmet is under but slight pressure, while the airdischarged from the helmet passes into a pipe, in which the air is ofless pressure than in the supply pipe or tubing, or if desired theairmay bedischarged into atmospheric pressure in a room or compartmentwhere atmospheric .pressure prevails but it is essential that the airintroduced into the helmet be pure or substantially pure and if not puiemay be treated to render the same pure, the latter being probablynecessary in the use of my improved helmet or air supplying means when aworkman, wearing such helmet, is exposed to poisonous fumes, gases orother substances.

It will be understood that while I have described one method and showncertain details of construction for carrying my invention into effect,that I am not necessarily limited to these respects and various changesin and modifications of the construction herein shown and described maybe made within the scope of the appended claims without departing fromthe spirit of my invention or sacrificing its advantages.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desir-e tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. An apparatus for supplying air to workmen when working within acompartment, comprising a helmet having intake and discharge passages,an air supply and discharge element comprising means for supplying airunder pressure and involving air supply y and discharge pipes having aplurality of nozzles spaced longitudinally thereof, said pipes beingcoupled together and provided with a valve for controlling thecommunication therebetween and for regulating pressure in the dischargepipe, flexible tubings mounted in connection with the intake anddischarge passages of the helmet and adapted to be detachably connectedwith the nozzles of said supply and discharge pipes and the free end ofsaid discharge pipe opening to atmosphere.

2. An apparatus for supplying air to work' men when working within acompartment, comprising a helmet having intake and discharge passages,an air supply and discharge element comprising means for supplying airunder pressure and involving air supply and discharge pipes having aplurality of nozzles spaced longitudinally thereof, said ipes beingcoupled together and provided with a valve for controlling thecommunication therebetween and for regulating pressure in the dischargepipe, iexible tubings mounted in connection with the intake anddischarge passages of the helmet and adapted to be detachably connectedwith the nozzles of said supply and discharge pipes, the free end ofsaid discharge pipe opening to atmosphere, means for mounting the helmetin connection with the body of the wearer, means for forming anair-tight connection between the helmet and the body of the wearer.

3. An apparatus for supplying air to Work'- men when working within acompartment, comprising a helmet having intake and discharge passages,an air supply and discharge element comprising means for supplying airunder pressure and involving air supply and discharge pipes having aplurality of nozzles spaced longitudinally thereof, said pipes beingcoupled together and provided with a valve -for controlling thecommunicaltion therebetween and for regulating pressure in the dischargepipe, flexible tubings mounted in connection with the intake anddischarge passages of the helmet and adapted to be de` tachablyconnected with the nozzles of said supply and discharge pipes, the freeend of said discharge pipe opening to atmosphere, means for mounting thehelmet in connection with the body of the wearer, means for forming anair-tight connection between the helmet and the body of the wearer, andmeans for introducing oxygen into said air supply pipe.

4. 'An apparatus for supplying air to workmen when working Within acompartment comprising a helmet having intake and discharge passages,anair supply and discharge element, comprising means for supplying airunder pressure and involving air supply and discharge pipes having aplurality of nozzles spaced longitudinally thereof, said pipesbeingcoupled together and provided with a valve for controlling thecommunication therebetween and for regulating pressure in the discharge-pipe, flexible tubings mounted in connection with the intake anddischarge passages of the helmet and lil partment in parallel relation,the intake pipe being coupled with saidv air` supply apparatus and saiddischarge pipe being acontln` nation of said intake pipe and openingout- Wardly to atmosp-hiere externally of Said compartment, a. pluralityof nozzles spaced longitudinally of the intake and discharge pipeswithin said com Vartment, a helmet having intake and disc arge passages,and means for lacing the intake and discharge passages o the helmet -incommunication with the nozzles of said intake and discharge pipes.

6. An apparatus for supplying fresh air to Workmen when working Within acompartment, comprising an apparatus for supplying air under slightpressure, intake and discharge pipes extending into said compartment inparallel relation, .the intake pipe being coupled with said air supplyapparatusA and said discharge pipe being a continuation of said intakepipe and opening outwardly to atmosphere externally of said compartment,a plurality of nozzles spaced longitudinally of the intake and dischargepassages, means for placing the intake and discharge passages of thehelmet in communication with the nozzles of said intake and dischargepipes, and a valve controlling the communication between the intake anddischarge pipes.

lln testimony that l claim the foregoing.

as my invention l have sig'nedfniyw name this 22nd day of March i923.

VlCTR-'K KORJIBSKI.

